This invention relates generally to ankle braces and, more particularly, to an ankle and leg support apparatus that is worn on the lower leg of a person and which interfaces with the shoe lace portion and shoe laces of any lace-type shoe.
A sprained ankle is a common injury to the ligaments in the ankle region of a persons lower leg and foot. Sometime called a sprain, a twisted ankle, a rolled ankle, or the like, the condition is caused by the partial tearing of ligaments of the ankle. A sprained ankle is usually caused when a person's foot “rolls” or collapses due to an awkward step or when an uneven ground surface urges the foot to essentially fold over when weight is applied over the foot while walking or running.
Various devices and treatments have been proposed in the art for enhancing healing of an ankle sprain or simply for minimizing the pain of the injury. For instance, elastic wraps and braces are beneficial in that they provide a compression force that gives a person reassurance while walking. Of course, crutches may be used by a person with a sprained ankle so as to eliminate any weight-bearing on the affected ankle. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices and proposals do not provide an apparatus that provides compression to the lower leg, sling cradling of a person's foot to lessen its weight bearing, and the ability to tighten the compression by tightening the laces of a shoe to which the apparatus is interfaced.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a shoe-interfaced ankle support apparatus that may be worn about the lower leg of a person with a sprained ankle and which cradles the person's foot inside a shoe. Further, it would be desirable to have a shoe-interfaced ankle support apparatus that is coupled to the lace portion of a lace-up type shoe and can be tightened with the shoe laces.